[This is an] abridged version of an article wrote about this yom tob in the pages of The Jewish Press [52] years ago. Called, “Down With Hanukah,” the article also appears in Beyond Words, a seven-volume collection of Rabbi Kahane’s articles that was edited by Rabbi Baruch Kahane, Rabbi Moshe Kaplan (Rabbi Kahane’s son and son-in-law, respectively), and Dovid Fein.
For over 35 years, Rav Kaplan has shared the teaching of Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook to baale teshuvah at the Machon Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Born in Los Angeles, he made aliyah when he was 14 and learned in the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva for 30 years. He is currently a member of the team of Torah scholars compiling and publishing Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook’s halachic commentary on the Talmud, Halacha Berura. Another member of the eight-man team is Rabbi Baruch Kahane. When the two were young chavrutot in the yeshiva, Baruch suggested that his Moshe meet his sister. Not long afterward, the two were married.
The Jewish Press asked Rabbi Kaplan what he remembers most about his father-in-law as a member of the family. He replied: “In his interactions with the family, his personality was completely different from his public persona. On television and at demonstrations, he came across as an angry prophet, filled with animosity toward the enemies of Israel, but on a personal level, he was quiet, humble, never drawing attention to himself.
“And while he was consumed day and night with the challenges facing the nation, he never neglected family. Although students and guests were constant visitors on Shabbat, he made a point to reserve a meal just for the Kahane clan so he could give his undivided attention to the family.”
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